Freund`s Mental Fitness Debated

With psychiatrists disagreeing on whether cancer specialist John S. Freund is mentally competent to stand trial for murder, a judge wants Palm Beach County Jail workers to tell him what they think.

``I want to hear from the jail staff. I`m strongly persuaded that the people who observe a person on a daily basis are in a good position to evaluate the person,`` Circuit Judge Marvin Mounts said Tuesday.

The judge said he wants to know how Freund, an oncologist, relates to corrections officers and details about how he passes time -- whether he reads and, if so, whether he reads ``Socrates or Reader`s Digest.``

Freund`s defense attorneys contend that their client should be declared incompetent to stand trial for the murder of Ralph Lee Walker and sent to a mental hospital for treatment.

Four psychiatrists said Freund suffers from memory lapses and diminished mental abilities caused by a 1983 suicide attempt that left him in a coma for several days. Only one of those four considers Freund competent to stand trial.

A fifth psychiatrist believes Freund is faking his memory problems.

``It`s the old defense, I wasn`t there, and if I was, I don`t remember being there,`` Dr. McKinley Cheshire said. ``I think he has a selective memory and remembers what he wants to remember. I think the motivation to suddenly remember very well certainly is not there.``

While Cheshire said Freund understands the gravity of the first-degree murder charge facing him, the other psychiatrists described Freund as living in a fantasy world.

``He was not aware of the seriousness of the situation in which he was involved,`` Dr. Jose Almeida said, recalling an interview he had with Freund in the jail. ``He was aware he had been charged, but he was not concerned. He was in a a good mood, almost like he was in a hotel waiting for somebody to come and pick him up.``

Freund was charged along with West Palm Beach drapery store owner John Trent after Walker`s body was found stuffed in a steamer trunk at the drapery store. The murder is alleged to have occurred during a small party July 24 in Trent`s suite at the Palm Beach Hotel.